Still Waters Run Deep
by starsaberGONE
Summary: When Team 7 comes across Uchiha Shisui unconscious in a forest in Iwa, they decide to take him back to Konoha. But things aren't as simple as they appear to be - first off, why was he lying in a forest in the first place?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto stalked through the forest with his arms crossed and a pout on his face.

 _Couldn't they see it was an accident? It wasn't like he had_ wanted _to rip a hole in his backpack and make all the food fall out! It had just happened! Fine, maybe they had a reason to be mad. But it wasn't like they didn't have any food at all! He'd offere_ _d them each a pack of his precious instant ramen! And what had that stuck-up, ungrateful, arrogant bastard said?_

 _"You dobe! Maybe you can live off instant ramen, but we can't!"_

Naruto grind his teeth. As soon as he finished catching the fish Kakashi-sensei had sent him to catch, he was going to go and rip a hole through that Sasuke!

"Now where'd heck is that stupid river?" He wondered out loud. Scrunching his nose and glaring at the trees on either side of him, he continued trudging through the forest, snapping branches and kicking stones. Squirrels scurried to get out of the way, and birds flapped their wings as hard as they possibly could in order to escape the rampaging blonde-haired, blue-eyed monster that was Naruto. Oh yes, he was on a _warpath_.

Unsurprisingly, an hour later, his search had yielded no results whatsoever.

 _Maybe I should've asked Kakashi-sensei before storming off like that. Oops._

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Naruto plopped himself down on the forest floor and glanced up at the sky, as if it would tell him where he should be going. The pastel pinks and oranges had since darkened into a deep, navy blue, bordering on black. A handful of stars dotted the night sky here and there, though the moon had yet to appear.

 _Great_. He thought irritably, jumping up. _Now I have to find that darn river and catch those darn fish in complete darkness._

As if things couldn't get any worse, that was when he tripped over the body.

* * *

Sakura tossed a withered twig into the crackling campfire, watching as the flames devoured it like a hungry pack of wolves. Propping her cheek against her hand, she turned to Kakashi.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei. When do you think they'll be back?"

The jonin shrugged. He was perched comfortably on a boulder, his droopy right eye fixated on the book in front of him. _Icha Icha Paradise_ , the cover read. A shadow flickered across his face. Without looking up from his book, he replied, "Whenever they feel like it, I suppose. Or whenever one of them manages to catch a fish or two."

"Oh." Sakura responded dully. She'd been hoping for a more specific answer. But then again, this was Kakashi-sensei they were talking about. And when had he ever been the anything less than cryptic?

"Welcome back, Sasuke." A light thump sounded from behind her. Sakura whipped around. Her eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

"Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "Did you catch anything?"

Wordlessly, the raven-haired boy handed her four bare tree branches with fat, flopping fish on the ends of them.

Smiling, she carefully took over the branches. Sticking three of them into the ground by the base next to the campfire, she took one, and began to roast it over the fire. Sasuke watched as she turned the makeshift skewer, just barely letting the flames lick the sides of the fish. A mouthwatering aroma filled the air.

He turned to Kakashi.

"Has Naruto still not come back?"

"I'm afraid not. You didn't see him on your way to the river?"

"No."

"He's been gone for over an hour now," Sakura chimed in. "He's probably lost."

Kakashi sighed sadly. "As unfortunate as it is, you're probably right."

"I'll go look for him." Sasuke volunteered. Without waiting for a response, he took off, disappearing into the dark, ominous woods.

Kakashi watched his student's silhouette fade into the distance. Then he shook his head. "Boys these days. Always so impatient."

Silently, Sakura nodded her head in agreement, still clutching the branch in her hand.

* * *

"OWW!" Naruto groveled on the forest floor, clutching his dirt-covered face. His eyes burned. Reaching up, he rubbed them viciously, trying to get the irritants out. His efforts however, only served to make them burn even worse. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Darn, why hadn't he listened during those stupid academy lessons? What had Iruka-sensei told him about getting stuff out of your eye?

 _"Squeeze your eyes shut, as tight as you can._ _That should be enough to trigger tears, which should wash the irritants, ahem, stuff out."_

Ah, bingo! That was it. He just had to get the tears to come out.

Squeezing his eyes shut with as much force as his eye lid muscles could possibly muster, Naruto waited for the tears to come. It only took moments for them to form. They relieved the stinging in his eyes almost instantly. Slowly, Naruto eased his eyes open. It took a while for the blanket of colors to melt into shapes, and then objects, but at least his eyes weren't burning anymore.

Problem solved, he moved onto his next task.

Angrily whipping around, Naruto began to scan for the whoever or whatever had tripped him. They weren't getting away with _this_. Oh no, they were not. How dare they trip the Great Uzumaki Naruto, the most prodigial ninja in existence, not to mention the future Hokage! They were going to pay!

It didn't take long for him to identify the offender, who came in the form of a seared black log, about as long as a human was tall. At least, that's what the inky object appeared to be. It was becoming harder and harder to see in the fading daylight.

He faced the log with a snarl. "So you think you can just get away with it, huh?" He rolled up his sleeves.

How dare that stupid log trip him and make him fall flat on his face and think that it could get away with it? The nerve of it!

He advanced towards the log, each step leaving a deeper and deeper imprint in the forest floor. His eyes gleamed with rage.

And he was just about to dish out his punishment when he realized.

That it wasn't a log.

It was a human.

For a split second, Naruto could only stare at the motionless body in utter, complete stupefaction. And then he screamed.

Birds shot from their nests like little rocket ships. Squirrels charged up trees at such a speed that they were but little light brown blurs, barely visible against the bark. Even the trees seemed shaken, swaying this way and that, as if they were trying to uproot themselves and flee to some place far, far away.

Naruto scrambled right after the squirrels, not daring to stop for even a moment until he was safely tucked away in the canopy of a nearby tree. From there he scrutinized the body as one would a specimen beneath a microscope, half excepting the body to just get up and come after him like some sort of zombie. The body remained motionless. In the fading daylight, the only thing he managed to make out was that the body appeared to be that of a man's. Intending to get a closer look, he leaned forwards.

And then-

And then he was plummeting towards the ground at about a hundred miles an hour, like a coin plunging into a fountain. Except it wasn't clear, cool fountain water that would greet him at the bottom. It was the solid, dirt-packed forest floor. Frantically, he searched for something to grip onto, but his hands found nothing but air.

 _I'm gonna hit! I'm gonna hit!_ His heart ricocheted off the walls of his chest. _I'm gonna hit!_

Bracing himself for the undoubtedly nasty landing, he curled himself into a ball, attempting to rotate his body so that he wouldn't be hitting the ground headfirst.

Falling ... falling ... falling ...

Only the impact never came. Someone had grabbed him from the ankles. Uchiha Sasuke stared down at him, his face perfectly blank. He wasn't amused.

"Teme!" Naruto yelled, overjoyed to see his teammate, who was sticking to a tree branch by the soles of his sandals.

"Hm." In one swift move, Sasuke thrusted his teammate up onto the branch, then swung himself up. The second both of them were on the branch, Sasuke began his lecture.

"What were you doing?! If you had hit the ground and cracked your head open, we would have to be the ones who would have to lug you to the hospital! What if you died on the way there, huh? Did you think about that before you decided to yield to your idiotic instincts and dive off that branch?"

Naruto's grin immediately morphed into a scowl. "For your information, teme, I was on a mission! You were the one who interrupted!"

"What sort of moronic mission were you trying to accomplish?!"

"I was FISHING!"

Sasuke paused. Blinked. "On a tree?"

"Well ..." Naruto's eyes darted back and forth. He refused to give teme the satisfaction of winning. Absolutely refused!

"It's called Rabbit Fishing." He told Sasuke matter-of-factly. To prove his point, he held up a good length of wire string.

The raven haired boy didn't say anything. He didn't even mention that rabbits in Iwa forests either sported vampire fangs and demon claws, or were too malnourished to be of any nutritional value. Naruto took this as a sign for him to continue talking. "I was fishing for rabbits, but then I spotted that." He waved his hand in the general direction of the body.

Sasuke turned his gaze towards the direction Naruto was pointing in.

"So I was thinking about whether or not I should deal with that body, y'know, 'cause they must've had a family, or what if they were a missing-nin from Konoha? Then we would have to dispose of his body wouldn't we? So I was thin- "

Sasuke sucked in a breath of air. Even in the darkness, the figure was unmistakable. He leapt off the branch and onto the ground. Naruto fell silent, watching his teammate curiously.

"Uh, Sasuke. What are you doing?" He whispered, one hand cupped against the side of his mouth, as if he were afraid their voices would be loud enough to rouse the dead - specifically, the body Sasuke was now examining with his mouth agape.

"This guy ... I know him." Sasuke started quietly.

Naruto's jaw dropped down to his chest. "You ... you do?"

"His name is ... Uchiha Shisui."

* * *

 **[A/N]:** I love Shisui. In fact, he's my second favorite character in the entire series. And just who doesn't want to see him in action? I mean "on par with Itachi", "wielder of the most powerful genjustu in exsistence" and "Shisui of the Body Flicker"? And he barely sees any action at all in the anime or the manga.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. (If I did though, Danzo wouldn't exist and Shisui would still have his eye and the Sasuke wouldn't have defected 'cause Naruto would've beaten some sense into him and Sasuke's daughter would most certainly _not_ be called "Salad").


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"His name is Uchiha Shisui." Sasuke repeated. "He's my cousin."

"Oh. I ... I'm sorry." Naruto turned his gaze towards the ground, unwilling to look Sasuke in the eye.

Sasuke cocked his head. "What for?"

"He's ... well, he's um, like ... " Naruto twidled his thumbs nervously.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _When did he pick up those annoying habits of Hinata's?_

"Spit it out."

"Kinda, dead?" He sneaked a glance up at his teammate, expecting to see _something_ \- rage, sadness, fear, bewilderment. After all, how cold-blooded and stone-hearted would you have to be to recieve news of a clan member's death without even batting an eye?

But when Naruto looked up, he saw nothing.

Sasuke's face was completely blank. He didn't even bat an eye.

Naruto had no idea how he was supposed to interpret the look on his teammate's face. But he could feel the red, hot fires of aggravation roaring inside of him. His feet moved on their own. Brisk, bold steps - five of them - until he was face to face with his Uchiha teammate. His countenance was livid - and he knew it.

He grabbed the Uchiha's shoulders, and squeezed, as hard as he could. He felt his fingernails digging into flesh.

"What'd heck are you- " Sasuke squirmed to get out of his grasp. Naruto held tight. Sapphire eyes clashed with onyx ones.

"Say something! Do something! Cry, or something! Don't just stand there with that stupid poker face of yours! He's _dead_! Don't you _care_ about him _at all_?!" Naruto cried, exasperated. Sasuke fell still.

How could he - how _dare_ he - stand there like a statue, emotionless, staring at a clan member's corpse?! Naruto had never had any family of his own, but if he were in Sasuke's shoes, he would've weapt. Weapt long and hard, until he had no more tears to shed. And then he would've weapt some more. Didn't he react after his clan was slaughtered? So why wasn't-

"He's not dead." Sasuke said finally, "He's breathing and he still has a pulse."

Naruto looked as if someone had dunked a bucket of ice water on his head. His eyes were as wide, if not wider than saucers. His mouth hung open, like he wasn't sure how to close it. Sasuke slipped his shoulders from out of Naruto's grip.

"He is ... but, but how?"

"His pulse is faint and he's just barely breathing. But he's alive." Sasuke explained. Gently, he lifted the man up and hoisted him onto his back. "Which is why we're taking him back to camp." And he took off without another word, a blue blur among the leafy greens and muddy browns of the forest, leaving a very puzzled Naruto behind.

"Wha ... what? Hey, Sasuke, wait! Wait!" Naruto hurried after his teammate, stilll perplexed about the events that had just occured.

* * *

Sakura had learned two things today.

The first thing she had learned was that Kakashi-sensei could eat through his mask.

When she had handed him one of the fish kabobs she had made, he had, quite literally, stuck it through his mask, slipped everything on it into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then pulled the skewer back out, completely devoid of even the smallest crumb.

Sakura had watched in amazement. The stick had gone in and out just like that. Smooth. Fluid. _Not even the tiniest hole._ She had noted, impressed. _Probably some kind of justu._ That was likely how he had managed to avoid uncovering his mask when eating for so long. _Well, so much for our plans to see his face._

Her sensei had burped happily, commended Sakura on her culinary skills, and gone right back to reading Icha Icha Paradise, which he had been doing for the past four hours or so.

And she hadn't even seen him turn a single page.

 _He's probably savoring each_ juicy _moment_. She had thought bitterly. _Pervert_.

The second thing she had learned was that Sasuke was _not_ the last Uchiha out there. When Sasuke and Naruto had returned to camp, they hadn't returned alone. They'd brought someone with them.

"Who's that?" She had asked, almost suspiciously. People didn't just pop up in forests. And even if they did, you simply don't just lug a random person to camp. Unless they were ... significant, somehow.

Kakashi glanced up. "Oh hey. You're back." His eye traveled to the stranger.

He almost dropped his book.

"My goodness," he breathed, his eyes wide. "That doesn't happen to be Shisui of the Body Flicker now, does it?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Sasuke replied.

"But didn't you just say he was your cousin?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows scrunched.

Sasuke ignored him.

"Sasuke-kun's cousin?" Now Sakura was intrigued.

"Didn't he commit suicide six years ago?" Kakashi queried, his tone hushed. "By jumping into the Naka River?"

Sakura and Naruto leaned in.

"He did. Which is why I find it hard to believe that he is Shisui. But he looks exactly like him."

"Wait, wait, wait." Naruto interjected. "So this guy was supposed to have drowned six years ago?!" His pitch had gone up dramatically.

Once again, he was ignored.

"Well, he doesn't seem to be in a very good condition. We better patch him up first, then talk."

* * *

None of the members of Team 7 had the faintest idea how to patch up Shisui.

Naruto's medical knowledge didn't extend beyond the use of bandages. Sasuke's wasn't much better. Sakura had a shaky knowledge of some medical techniques, but even then, it didn't do much good.

So as all genin do when they've come to a dead end, they turned to their jounin sensei.

Kakashi scratched his head. _This was going to be troublesome._

"Um ... we get him comfortable first, I guess?" His voice shook pathetically. _Let's hope this works._ He crossed his fingers.

Shisui was quickly whisked onto a sleeping bag by the fire.

"Next, we, er, examine his injuries." In a flash, they were all sitting by Shisui's sleeping bag, looking at Kakashi expectantly.

 _I guess they want me to do the examining._

Kakashi made his way to the sleeping bag. Slowly, awkwardly, he began to examine the patient.

 _Breathing. Check. Pulse. Check. Couple of cuts and bruises here and there. Those'll be alright. Now, what else am I supposed to check for? Concussions?_

He turned to his students. "Do any of you know how to check for concussions?"

Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads. Sakura ventured an answer. Raising her hand, as if they were in class, she informed him: "I think you look at their eyes to see if their pupil's are dilated. So I guess it's kind of impossible, with him, you know ..." She trailed off.

Kakashi tilted his head. "Why?"

The looks his students gave him told him that he had missed something big. _But what?_ His eye wandered up to the patient's face. Bandages had been wounded around his eyes. They lay flat across his face. There were no indents, no telltale sign that there were indeed, eyes beneath the layers of muddied cloth. Kakashi wanted to bang himself on the head. _How could he have missed it?_

"Well, he hasn't got any eyes."

* * *

 **[A/N]:** I know, I know. My chapters are really short. I usually try to go for at least 1000 words, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.

Thanks to those who favored, followed or reviewed! Feedback is much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Sakura woke to the sound of Kakashi singing: "Wakey, wakey, rise and shine!" The very sound of his voice at not-even-six-in-the-morning made her want to strangle him. Even behind closed lids, she could tell that the sun had barely peeked above the horizon, and that the sky was still a mottle of blues and blacks. _Just another minute_ , she promised herself, snuggling even deeper into her sleeping bag. _Just another minute ... or two ... or maybe three ..._

She had had a long night. Cleaning up after dinner had been an ordeal in and of itself, thanks to Naruto's atrocious eating habits (and yes, he just had to have ramen. Even after the kabob). Then there had been the matter of Shisui, whom they had bickered and squabbled and nearly broken out into violence over, until Kakashi had finally intervened and suggested that they just leave Shisui be, lest they do more harm than good. Shisui's condition seemed to have stabilized anyways, during all the time they had wasted yelling their throats dry and coming up with insults which would've put even Hidan to shame. Go figure. And then of course, there had been the routine night shift.

It was no wonder the normally motivated, straight-A kunoichi wasn't herself today. She was just too exhausted.

"Wakey, wakey!" Came the voice again. Miffed, she turned the other way, ducking her face down so that the sides of her sleeping bag muffled the sound of Kakashi's ever so infuriating wake-up calls.

"Just a couple more minutes." She murmured. "Just a couple more."

If Haruno Mebuki was feeling indulgent, she might've gone through with her daughter's plea. But Kakashi wasn't Mebuki. He was Hatake Kakashi. And when you're Hatake Kakashi, you do not - _cannot_ \- be indulgent with your students. It was unthinkable - pampering, spoiling, mollycoddling those _gaki_ (the very thought made a shiver go up his spine) - especially when you were supposed to be the one beefing them up for fights involving sharp things and possibly death. If words wouldn't work, there was nothing stopping him from resorting to brute force.

The second the words slipped out of her mouth, Sakura found herself being unceremoniously dumped out of her sleeping bag. She landed on the forest floor with a thump an an oof! The dirt was still moist from the dew, and combined with the chilly morning air, it took no time at all for the cold to set into Sakura's bones. The iciness cleared her mind, brought her to her senses, and she was up in an instant, goosebumps rising and teeth clattering. Hugging her bare arms, she pivoted around to glare daggers at her sensei, who was whistling, travel size erotic novel in hand, looking as innocent as ever.

Besides her, Naruto was stirring. He'd been dumped out of his sleeping bag as well, it appeared. Apparently, Shisui aside, Kakashi had spared only Sasuke, who was still cacooned in his sleeping bag, fast asleep. His face was turned away from Sakura, who felt a sudden impulse to go and ruffle his raven locks.

The blonde rubbed his eyes. "Wha, wha, what's up?" He drawled, as if he were drunk.

Kakashi offered him an infamous grin. "Well, we need to get going. So won't you go wake Sasuke for me?"

Naruto snapped to attention. "Wake Sasuke?" The edges of his mouth curled up into a peevish smile. "Why, I'd love to."

Shisui aside, Kakashi had spared no one.

* * *

Mission "Wake Sasuke" had ended in success, yes, but at a high price no less. The second Naruto's singing and poking and dancing had registered in Sasuke's fatigued mind, his eyes had flared red, and Naruto had gone flying into a nearby tree. And that was where he had stayed, secured by a kunai through each of his sleeves, until the rest of Team Seven had finished packing up their camping supplies and re-bandaging Shisui, not to mention sharpening their weapons. The whole process had totaled twenty minutes and thirty-three seconds, of which Naruto had spent the entirety grouching, grumbling and bellyaching until Sakura, who had reached the end of her wits, had freed him, and promptly sent him spiraling gracelessly into another tree. Kakashi and Sasuke had watched from the sidelines apathetically, displaying no signs of extending a helping hand any time soon.

Now, they stood in the clearing, each lugging a backpack. Shisui's limp body had been slung over Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi had a protective arm fastened across Shisui's waist, lest he go tumbling off somewhere in the middle of their journey back to Konoha. The clearing had been reset to how it had been a day ago, and every trace of Team Seven's presense had been erased, down to the most miniscule strand of hair. Kakashi inhaled a breath of air, finally finished with his inspection. He turned to his students.

"Ready to go?"

The answers he recieved ("I guess", "Hn" and "Not until I rip teme's head off!") were decidedly not the answers he had been hoping for, but by now, he reasoned, he should probably be used to such responses. After all, none of his students dealt with early morning departures particularly well. _Minato-sensei had it easy_. He thought to himself. Both he and Rin had been early birds. Obito had been the only lazy one.

"Off we go!" He announced, leaping up and onto a tree branch. From there, he continued bouncing from one branch to the next, gaining more and more momentum until it was no longer possible to pick him out among the foliage.

His students reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

Their journey back home had been a smooth one, right up until they had reached the borders of Iwa. Then things had begun going awry, starting with a barrage of chakra-infused senbon.

 _Shoot_. Sasuke realized, as he dexterously deflected a couple dozen silver needles. They - whoever _they_ were - weren't aiming randomly. Every single projectile was going for a vital point. And they were all deadly accurate.

A single senbon bounced off the blade of his kunai. If it had traveled another inch, it would've pierced his jugular. The thought coated his palm in a layer of cold sweat, making his grip on his kunai slip. His heels dug into the branch he was standing on. He tightened his grip. He couldn't afford to lose here. Especially when they had just found Shisui.

But at this rate, they were definitely going to lose. They needed to do more than defend. They needed to attack.

He flashed through the hand signs.

Tiger. Ram. Monkey. Boar.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Justu!"

A blaze of orange light lit up the sky, consuming the senbon in a haze of sweltering flames. Sasuke smirked, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. _That should do the trick. Now, all we need to do is throw a smoke-_

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Justu!"

His eyes widened.

* * *

 **[A/N]:** (Sigh). Impatience is such a curse. I'm sorry my chapters are so short. But I can't help myself. Every time I get done with 1000 words, my fingers are just itching to press the "New Chapter" button.

Thanks to everyone who followed, favored or reviewed! Feedback is much appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Sakura let out a little gasp as the two techniques collided, watching as they dispersed in a violent burst of steam. The steam obscured her vision, clouding her surroundings in a smoky white veil.

She tensed, squeezing her kunai even tighter. In this haze, even the tiniest misstep could prove to be fatal. The enemy had already proven themselves to be deathly accurate aimers. With all of this steam, a surprise attack would be but a simple matter. She would have to be careful.

Eyes darting, heart racing, she slowly reached down to her kunai holster. Flipping over its cover, she pulled out another silver dagger. Now she was armed with one kunai in each hand.

 _Yosh. Now, I have to get into defensive position._

Keeping a wary eye on her surroundings, she pulled her arms into a cross, shielding her chest and neck. Her heart pounded faster. Pivoting forty-five degrees, she stood still for a second, waiting, sensing, listening. _Nothing_. She pivoted another forty-five degrees. _Nothing_. She turned her head upwards. _Nothing_. Downwards. _Nothing_.

She let out a breath of relief. And then sharply, she sucked in another one. Silently she berated herself for letting her guard down. _What am I doing? This is no time to be relieved! The enemy could-_

Ice cold fingers curled around her bare shoulder. Her pupils dilated. She clenched her kuani even tighter. _No, how could- I was careful!_

Swallowing, she turned to face her enemy.

* * *

Sasuke cursed himself for being so impulsive. He hadn't thought - he'd just done. And now - _screw_ _it_ \- thanks to him, they were in this terrifically messed-up situation. While he himself had no problem with the fog (heck, a sharingan user could have no problem even if there was no light at all) he wasn't so sure about his teammates. Oh, his sensei would be fine. He wouldn't even need his renowned dojustu. He'd just be walking around as if everything was fine as could be. No, Sasuke wasn't worried about his sensei. It was Sakura and Naruto who worried him. They wouldn't be able to see in this fog. The enemy could ambush them at any time. And to make matters worse, they were fighting on trees.

Trees, which Naruto had almost fallen off of a day before, when he had gone "rabbit fishing".

Sasuke picked up his pace.

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure what he had done to deserve Sakura's wrath. All he'd done was kinda poked, kinda grabbed her arm. Surely that couldn't have been _that_ offensive, could it? He'd thought she'd be happy that a manly ninja like him had shown up in just the nick of time to protect her in this fog. (Teme would've done alright, but certainly not as well as he would).

The searing red handprint on his cheek said otherwise.

With one hand against his cheek, he looked to Sakura with perhaps the best puppy eyes the world had ever seen.

"Sakura-chan," he whined. "What was that for?"

Sakura turned away, with her nose up in the air and her hands on her hips. " _That_ ," she explained, "was for you giving me a heart attack."

Naruto sniffed. "I didn't mean to, I swear!"

Sakura's features softened. Clearing her throat, she told him: "I'm sorry. You just surprised me, that's all. Anyways, let's go find Sasuke and sensei."

"Okay!" the blonde agreed happily. Sakura-chan had apologized, and that was all that really mattered.

"SHH!" Sakura snarled with a finger on her lips.

"Oh. Okay." Came the whispered reply.

* * *

"Come out." Kakashi announced to the forest. "I know you're there - quit hiding."

A swishing noise alerted him of the incoming attack. Keeping one arm around Shisui, he pulled out a kunai and parried the attempt.

The masked figure landed with a slight stumble, dropping one knee to the ground in order to support him (or possibly her) self. They righted themselves in an instant.

 _Genin-level. Maybe early chunnin. Definitely not any more than that._

The masked figure pulled out a kunai, extending their arm so that the tip of the kunai was pointed directly at Kakashi. A threat.

Kakashi merely glanced at the weapon pointed directly at his heart. Then he directed his eyes towards the masked figure.

"Give Ryu back. Now." He/she demanded.

Kakashi didn't flinch. _So it's a girl, huh?_ The pitch was much too high to be a boy's.

The girl tried again. "Give Ryu back. Now."

She was trying hard to appear intimidating, Kakashi noted. She had risen to her full height, and it was obvious she was straining her voice to make it sound lower. Scarier. Possibly more mature. But it still quivered pathetically. Her arm shook too, despite her efforts to keep it still. All signs of an amatuer.

"By Ryu, are you referring to Shisui?" He asked, indicating the man slung across his shoulder.

"That is correct." For some reason, she sounded relieved.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, you see."

"And why is that?" This time, the voice was firm. Confident. The sudden change surprised Kakashi. He didn't show it though. Shinobi weren't supposed to display their emotions.

"Shisui belongs to our village. We're taking him back."

There was a slight pause before the masked figure responded.

"Then you'll have to fight me first."

* * *

This chapter is only 917 words, so sorry about that. But it seemed like a good cutoff point, so I stopped it there. Thanks to everyone who followed, favored or reviewed. Feedback is much appreciated.

See you next time!


End file.
